Skip navigation
Navigation

Hennepin County, Minnesota

Search

Portland Avenue bicycle and pedestrian link

County Road 35 in Minneapolis and Richfield

Hennepin County, in coordination with City of Minneapolis, City of Richfield, Minnesota Department of Transportation and Metro Transit, is reconfiguring a segment of Portland Avenue between 60th and 67th streets.

Construction activities began in May.

Project timeline showing planning and design phases are completed. Construction and project completion are expected for 2021.
 
Open all

Portland Avenue repaving tomorrow 

Starting at 4 a.m. tomorrow, October 8, crews will repave Portland Avenue (County Road 35) between 60th Street in Minneapolis and 67th Street in Richfield as part of the Portland Avenue bicycle and pedestrian link project. 

Barring any delays, we anticipate this work to be complete by Friday evening. 

Short-term closure at the 66th Street roundabout 

From 4 to 6 a.m. tomorrow, crews will close the Portland Avenue and 66th Street (County Road 53) intersection to allow crews to repave the roundabout. We are paving at this time, when there is less traffic, to improve safety for crews and reduce traffic impacts. 

During this brief closure, people will need to use other local routes. 

Road will remain open at other locations 

At all other locations, crews will keep Portland Avenue open while crews are repaving. People driving should expect minor delays from traffic configuration changes and lane closures.

For your safety and the safety of our crews, we ask that you obey all posted speed limits and slow down where crews are working. Flaggers will be onsite to direct traffic where crews are working. Please allow yourself some extra time to reach destinations in the area. 

Portland Avenue bike and pedestrian project is nearing completion 

Since construction activities began in May, crews replaced underground utilities and constructed much of the new trails, curbs, sidewalks and pedestrian ramps. 

We still have approximately three weeks of work to complete this project. Crews will wrap up the remaining construction activities on Portland Avenue: 

Installing permanent pavement markings between 67th and 60th Streets 

  • Finishing bike trail paving near the Crosstown 
  • Installing new flashing yellow arrow turn signals 
  • Painting signal poles 
  • Adding topsoil and installing sod  
  • Installing streetlights in Minneapolis 

Traveling the area

While we work on these activities, we will continue to maintain as much access as possible for people traveling on Portland Avenue. However, people should continue to anticipate occasional delays and short-term closures and will see large equipment on-site and trucks moving in and out of the area at various times.  

As we complete the remaining activities, we ask you to stay aware, use extra caution and slow down when driving through the construction area.  

Portland Avenue is among the county’s most biked corridors. It connects downtown Minneapolis and north with the Interstate 494 employment corridor, Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and southeast Hennepin County.

The project will complete a critical bicycle transportation link on Portland Avenue. It will install bikeways, improve facilities for pedestrians and convert a portion of the road from four to three lanes.

Key features of the project

For people walking and needing accessibility features

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps and sidewalk
  • Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS)
  • Durable crosswalk markings
  • Countdown timers

For people on bikes

  • New dedicated trail
  • On-street bike lanes

For people using transit

For people who live and work along the corridor

  • Retain portion of parking in Minneapolis
  • Improve access for all people going to local businesses

Safety improvements and updates for all users

  • Additional dedicated turn lanes
  • Improve traffic signal timing by utilizing video detection software
  • New flashing yellow arrow turn signals
  • Revised locations for traffic signals based on usage data and safety needs
  • 4 to 3 lane conversion

Next steps

  • Minneapolis and Richfield city council approvals of project concept in March 2019
  • Final design 2019–2020
  • Construction between March and October 2021

Hennepin County

City of Minneapolis

City of Richfield

Metro Transit

Open all
Top